Computer game leads to stabbingBy Haringey IndependentA FINSBURY Park teenager who brutally stabbed his schoolfriend to death in a row over a computer game has been jailed for life. Yonis Jama, of Roslyn Road, who was then 16, used two knives and a screwdriver during the frenzied attack on sixth-former Steven Siewlal who was stabbed 67 times. He was jailed at the Old Bailey on Friday. The court heard how Jama, who was obsessed with violent computer games and was an avid reader of Japanese 'Manga' comics, visited Steven at his home in Willingdon Road, Turnpike Lane, on September 22, 1999, to help him write to his sweetheart. The pair, who met as pupils at White Hart Lane School in Tottenham, shared an interest in computer games. But Somalian-born Jama exploded with rage when 16-year-old Steven threatened to take his Sony Playstation in payment for a lost game cartridge worth £30. The teenager, now 19, stopped midway through the onslaught to fetch another knife after the blade of the first became too bent to use. He had taken the knives from a small collection belonging to Steven ranging from Swiss army knives to combat knives. He then tied Steven's body with vacuum cleaner flex to give the impression of a robbery before fleeing the house. Steven, who was studying for a GNVQ in advanced information technology at Barnet College, was found on the living room floor by his mother Chandra, 44, when she returned from work. The majority of the wounds were to his head, face and upper body. A knife with an eight-inch blade was found in a park by a woman walking her dog minutes after the attack. The other knife with a four-inch blade bent to a 90 degree angle and weapon sheaths' were found later in the park by police. Jama, who would spend up to 15 hours a day playing bloodthirsty 'beat-em-up' computer games, initially denied visiting Steven at all, claiming he was at one of his regular haunts which sold Manga comics. Defence psychiatrist Dr Stephen Brugha said Jama was suffering from a form of autism known as Asperger's syndrome. But prosecution experts rejected the diagnosis claiming that Jama had 'an anger management problem'. Jama told psychiatrist Dr Susan Bailey that he did not think he was mad, 'only different'. Jama, who has already spent three years in custody because a previous jury was unable to agree on a verdict, admitted manslaughter on the grounds of provocation or diminished responsibility but denied murder. He was convicted by a majority of ten to two by the jury after nearly seven hours of deliberation. Judge Neil Denison QC set a minimum jail term of eight years. 12:42 Thursday 26th September 2002
More Stories By This Author
| 
Printer Friendly Format
Send This Page To A Friend
